Friday, Feb. 16, 2018 — February marks American Heart Month, a time when people are encouraged to take charge of their health and enact a heart-healthy lifestyle to help reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. In the United States, heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women. And while several factors can increase a person’s risk for developing heart disease, Kentuckians in particular are vulnerable because of our high smoking rates, which are among the highest in the nation.

KentuckyOne Health encourages regular screenings to help detect heart disease, as well as lung cancer, early-on, because we know early detection goes a long way to enhancing treatment. While Kentuckians can find out about screening opportunities at all of our hospitals around the Commonwealth, we’d much rather see fewer cases of heart disease or lung cancer in the first place. We need to work together to reduce the unacceptable number of deaths across the state attributed to smoking.

While some Kentuckians have been able to quit smoking—sometimes on their own, sometimes with the help of managed smoking cessation programs—for others, the addiction and the habit are too difficult to break, despite the desire to quit. We need to explore new ways to help people quit or even not start smoking in the first place.

By raising Kentucky’s cigarette tax by at least $1 per pack, we can help reduce the rate of smoking and that will save lives. Within one year of quitting smoking, the risk of coronary heart disease decreases by half. In just 12 weeks, a person’s circulation and lung function improves.

The Coalition for a Smoke-Free Tomorrow needs our help to convince lawmakers that enough is enough, and that we have watched too many friends and family members die as a result of smoking, and heart disease or lung cancer connected to smoking.

The Coalition is a diverse group of health care professionals, community and business organizations and advocates that is speaking with one voice and one goal. The organization is seeking an increase in Kentucky’s cigarette tax from just 60 cents a pack to $1.60 per pack, along with other efforts to enact smoke-free ordinances in communities without one, and educating the public and health care providers about cessation resources.

It’s never easy for a lawmaker to enact a tax, but with Kentucky’s current cigarette tax among the lowest in the country, and smoking rates among the highest, something has to give. The health of Kentuckians depends on it.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that increasing cigarette prices by just 10 percent has been estimated to reduce overall cigarette consumption by 3 to 5 percent, and that young adults and youth are two to three times more likely to respond to the price increase But it takes at least a $1 excise tax increase to create an effective price increase – tobacco companies can undermine anything less than a $1 tax increase with coupons and other price promotions. If we get the $1/pack increase, however, we can help set the stage for our children, nieces, nephews and grandchildren to lead a healthier life – a life without cigarettes.

Not only will a $1 per pack increase have an impact in deterring smoking, it will also result in reduced health care costs across Kentucky. Fewer smokers would result in a decrease in hospitalizations, as well as medication and outpatient costs.

Currently, smoking-related health care costs exceed $1.9 billion in the Commonwealth. When you take medical care, along with the cost of lost productivity due to that care and the exposure to secondhand smoke, it becomes not just an expensive habit for the smoker, but for everyone.

We at KentuckyOne Health are dedicated to bringing wellness, healing and hope to all, including the underserved. We are proud to stand by the Coalition for a Smoke-Free Tomorrow, supporting them in urging Kentucky lawmakers to be bold leaders and enact this tax increase. Together, we can make a difference in the lives of Kentuckians. We urge our legislators and Governor to put the health of all Kentuckians first, leading to a healthier and stronger future for us all.

Friday, Feb. 16, 2018 — This week in Frankfort marked the halfway point of the 2018 Legislative Session. Kentucky is a robust state, with many incredibly good traits, and some serious issues still to tackle. Every two years in Frankfort, the Legislature is charged with crafting a budget to fund important government programs like education, health care, and transportation, just to name a few. Every two years, Kentuckians descend on Frankfort to make the case for funding certain programs, and this year is certainly no different.

Within the month, I expect the House to reveal its budget plan. Within the week, I expect the General Assembly to reveal its pension plan – which has been the subject of much speculation over the last six months. It’s an open secret that Kentucky has one of the nation’s worst funded public pensions, and that changes must be made to keep the commitment of a retirement to teachers and state workers. As we bear down on a pension bill to address the issues that exist, I remain confident that any plan will reflect the sentiments of those most affected, and that the best possible solution will be proposed. And as a result, we will pass a measure that finally sets the systems on the right track to long-term sustainability, while allowing the state to move forward. The interested parties spoke, and we listened – which is, after all, the best model for success.

Simultaneously, the process of drafting a budget is underway, and I’m confident the final House version will appropriately fund education of our students in K-12 schools, will take care of the health care needs of our most vulnerable, will fund a transportation system that is conducive to a great quality of life and free flowing travel for individuals and businesses, and will position Kentucky to be a global leader.

Aside from the major work on public pensions and the budget, we have been very busy in other areas too. A few bills that moved through the House this week include:

HOUSE BILL 191, a consumer protection measure for online eye care, passed the Kentucky House of Representatives. The legislation sets basic standards for the operation of online eye care. Currently, Kentucky does not have any standards for online technology for glasses or contacts. HB 191 was crafted carefully to ensure it does not infringe upon the growth of new medical technology.

HOUSE BILL 193, would make it a felony to intentionally expose a law enforcement officer to bodily fluids or bodily waste, was approved by the House Judiciary Committee. Currently, Kentucky jailers and some other officials are protected against someone intentionally causing them to come into contact with bodily fluids and waste, but not law enforcement. The legislation would carry stiffer penalties if the bodily fluids or waste carry—or could carry—a communicable disease, including hepatitis C virus or HIV. Both crimes would be considered felony assault under the proposal.

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 35, would remove hemp from the definition of marijuana in the federal Controlled Substances Act. Hemp, like marijuana, is a variety of the cannabis plant but is non-narcotic and legally produced on many Kentucky farms for industrial use. Kentucky removed many hemp products from its definition of illegal substances in 2017. Removing hemp from the federal Controlled Substance Act will allow Kentucky farmers and processors to take full advantage of this promising agricultural crop.

HOUSE BILL 260, would set licensing and renewal fees for barbers, cosmetologists and related trades by regulation, not by law, passed a House committee. Additionally, it would allow board inspectors on the premises of shops and salons to review paperwork related to board-licensed activities.

Thank you for allowing me to serve as your voice in Frankfort. Please reach out to me with your thoughts on the serious issues we are working on, by email or phone. You can reach me through the toll-free message line in Frankfort at 1-800-372-7181, or you can contact me via e-mail at Chad.McCoy@lrc.ky.gov. You can keep track of committee meetings and potential legislation through the Kentucky Legislature Home Page at www.lrc.ky.gov.

Friday, Feb. 2, 2018 — This week was the busiest yet in Frankfort with a number of bills moving through committees and onto the Senate and House floors for votes. We were also visited by a number of statewide advocacy groups that championed their great causes and rallied in the Capitol Rotunda. Between visiting constituents, committee meetings, and voting on the Senate floor, we continued to discuss the upcoming budget.

SEN. JIMMY HIGDON

We passed a number of bills this week including Senate Bill 12. This bill designates May 1 of every year as “School Bus Driver Day” in Kentucky. Although they do not often receive the accolades they deserve, our school bus drivers are one of the most important parts of our children’s school days. They are the first and last adults our children interact within the school system every day, and we are so grateful for the work they do.

Senate Bill 35 was another bill we passed which would align Kentucky labor laws for seasonal facilities with federal standards. We also passed SB 37, directing the Transportation Cabinet to establish procedures allowing federal inmates on work release to obtain their drivers licenses in order to better integrate into society. Measures such as SB 37 are important in both workforce development and criminal justice reform as we try to help inmates best prepare for reentry into the workforce. The bill passed the Senate unanimously.

Another important bill that passed the Senate this week was SB 68. This bill would clarify that a victim of domestic violence is not required to pay the legal fees of the abusive spouse in a divorce action when the spouse is jailed for crimes against the victim. During this bill’s committee hearing we heard compelling testimony from survivors of domestic abuse who were forced to pay their abusive spouses’ legal fees. This bill also passed the Senate unanimously, and I was proud to support it.

Senate Bill 85, which passed without opposition, would make it easier for notaries public to change their name without having to undergo the certification process again. Senate Bill 57 also passed and allows a person injured by an act of terrorism to file a claim for damages against the terrorist. It also establishes a crime of terrorism as a capital offense that will be punished by imprisonment for life without probation or parole and that a person convicted of terrorism cannot be released early. This bill puts in place protections for Kentuckians if there is ever a terror attack on our Commonwealth’s soil.

The Senate also passed SB 72, a government transparency measure which prohibits the naming of state buildings, properties, programs, initiatives, highways, or bridges in honor of any living elected state official or state employee. This bill will help ensure that state elected officials and employees do not use their public positions for personal gain. The bill is not retroactive and will not remove already-named structures.

We wrapped up the week on Friday wearing blue and orange to support Marshall County High School and to show that we are #MarshallStrong. We continue to pray for all those affected, especially the citizens of Marshall County, and they are in our hearts as we continue our work in Frankfort.

If you have any questions or comments about these issues or any other public policy issue, please call me toll-free at 1-800-372-7181, on my home phone at 270-692-6945, or email me at Jimmy.Higdon@LRC.ky.gov. You can also review the Legislature’s work online at www.lrc.ky.gov.

Feb. 2, 2018 — As the 2018 session moves into February, key House priorities are moving through the legislative process, and we recently passed multiple bills to enhance the quality of education in Kentucky.

Two key education bills that we delivered to the Senate last week include legislation imparting greater financial and drug abuse knowledge on the next generation. House Bill 55 calls for drug abuse prevention curriculum to be developed by the Office of Drug Control Policy, with a focus on teaching K-12 students about the dangers of the prescription drug epidemic, and its relation to other dangerous substances. This legislation is a terrific step towards combatting the rising opioid epidemic.

STATE REP. CHAD MCCOY

House Bill 132 requires high school students to take a course on financial literacy as a requirement for receiving a diploma. This legislation brings a much-needed focus on personal finances to our schools, many of which currently have no such requirement. Whether it be student loans, credit cards, or saving for retirement, it is critical for our students to be equipped with basic financial skills.

Meanwhile, House Bill 3, which establishes an “essential skills” curriculum in K-12 schools, was filed this week. Far too much of our potential workforce lacks the practical skills necessary to fill many positions, such as passing a drug test, showing up for work on time, and solving basic problems. Under this legislation, students would be required to complete three out of a variety of essential skills requirements, including undergoing random drug testing and participating in a work-based learning program. The lack of soft skills, and in particular the inability to pass a drug test, is a growing concern that I hear about from employers, and is an issue that this bill will allow our state to make progress on.

Another piece of priority legislation that was recently filed is House Bill 1, which includes comprehensive reforms to our systems of adoption and foster care. For far too long, many children have been held up in state care, unable to be placed into loving homes due to financial and bureaucratic constraints. This proposal seeks to streamline the placement of children into supportive families, and is the product of months of work done by our House Working Group on Adoption. I look forward to seeing movement on this legislation, which will be good for all parties involved, not the least of which are the children and families affected.

A couple of other bills we recently passed out of the House include a transparency measure requiring the posting of ambulance fees by EMT providers, so that all recipients of these services are fully aware of the costs. Meanwhile, House Bill 30 requires suicide prevention training in schools for both administrators and teachers, on an every-other-year basis. As more and more research emerges on the growing feelings of anxiety and depression in young people, it is vital that those who spend significant amounts of time with our students are fully prepared to spot the original signs of suicidal behavior.

We are continuing working to craft a responsible budget that meets all of our obligations. That is the ongoing purpose of our House Budget Review Subcommittees: to evaluate the Governor’s proposal and look for areas where some cuts may need to be restored, while keeping in mind that a top priority is to ensure that we provide full funding to our long-neglected pension systems. I have heard from many of you with your thoughts on the proposed budget, and I hope that you continue reaching out.

I am honored to serve as your voice in Frankfort. In order for me to effectively represent you, it is important that I get your thoughts on the many pressing issues facing our state. You can reach me through the toll-free message line in Frankfort at 1-800-372-7181, or you can contact me via e-mail at Chad.McCoy@lrc.ky.gov. You can keep track of committee meetings and potential legislation through the Kentucky Legislature Home Page at www.lrc.ky.gov.

Liberty Boosters: President Trump for allowing states waivers to create work requirements for able-bodied adults added to Medicaid as part of Obamacare, and Gov. Matt Bevin for ensuring Kentucky was first in line for approval.

Progressives are taking legal action, claiming such requirements weren’t part of the 1965 law creating Medicaid.

The reason they weren’t is that Medicaid was intended to serve a much-smaller group.

It was created as a safety net for those incapable of helping themselves, not able-bodied adults making up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level – nearly $21,000 for individuals and $43,000 for a family of four.

Medicaid wasn’t intended to cover those who can work or at least volunteer in their communities.

It certainly wasn’t made to serve 68 million Americans, 1.4 million of whom are Kentuckians.

Ideological opponents salivate at the opportunity to paint a picture of conservatives as hardened brutes who would rather see the poor die in the streets than receive Medicaid benefits.

But hardworking taxpayer-voters get it.

The same Washington Post poll that shows nearly 75 percent of the public view Medicaid favorably as a safety-net program also reports 70 percent of Americans agree with allowing states to impose work requirements on beneficiaries.

Thomas in a floor debate of a bill giving voters the opportunity to amend Kentucky’s constitution to include elections for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer and agriculture commissioner in even-numbered years when presidential elections bring significantly higher turnout, claimed voters would be confused by the change.

“I don’t think we should confuse who is running for president … with who is going to be our governor,” Thomas said in the floor debate on the bill before it received 24-11 approval by the Kentucky Senate.

Does Thomas believe voters are incapable of understanding that while who’s elected president matters, Washington isn’t going to solve problems most affecting their daily lives, like Kentucky’s pension crisis, widening education-achievement gap or budget deficits?

Voters aren’t confused. But they and their county clerks are election-fatigued, considering Kentuckians go to the polls three out of every four years.

Or, at least a few of them do.

Barely 10 and 12 percent of eligible voters turned out in the most recent off-year primaries and fewer than one in three cast ballots in the general elections, compared with nearly 60 percent in Kentucky’s 2016 presidential tally.

So, doubling the number of voters deciding who leads the commonwealth, saving counties millions and curing election fatigue “goes in the wrong direction”?

Now I’m confused.

Life Booster: Tracy Tubbs, whose 15-year-old niece Bailey Holt’s loving life was senselessly snuffed out in a shooting Tuesday at Marshall County High School.

One of Holt’s fellow students stands accused in the attack, which killed two, injured at least 18 others and shattered countless lives in the tight-knit Benton community.

It’s tempting to make the story all about a lost young man.

But Tubbs told reporters that’s not how her niece did life.

“She would absolutely tell us all to stop all the fuss, not be angry, forgive him and pray for his mom,” Tubbs said. “She would not have an angry bone in her body. She would rather us turn our pain into something good, and that’s the best way we are going to represent her life.”

Talk about love in biblical proportions: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Jim Waters is president and CEO of the Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions, Kentucky’s free-market think tank. Read previous columns at www.bipps.org. He can be reached at jwaters@freedomkentucky.com and @bipps on Twitter.​

Friday, Jan. 19, 2018 — Despite the slick roads and thick accumulation of snow across the Commonwealth, the Kentucky General Assembly returned ready to work following the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend. The general atmosphere in the Capitol was one of anticipation as citizens rallied for causes in the Rotunda and met with their legislators throughout the week.

SEN. JIMMY HIGDON

During even-numbered years members of the Kentucky General Assembly craft a two-year budget for the state. This year’s budget discussions kicked off with Governor Matt Bevin’s State of the Commonwealth Budget Address on the evening of Tuesday, January 16. The Commonwealth, unfortunately, currently faces a bleak financial outlook. We in the General Assembly are held accountable by taxpayers, and we must use taxpayer dollars in the most responsible manner possible. Although this budget will be tight, I believe this is one more step to getting our state’s financial health on track.

The budget address by the Governor is one of the first steps in crafting a final budget that will guide Kentucky’s financial decisions for the next two years. Once the Governor outlines his plan, the Kentucky Senate and House will craft their own budget plans, and—after long discussion and input from stakeholders—will come together to create a final budget.

When it came to pensions, the Governor proposed committing $3.31 billion over the biennium to fund public pensions, including the plan for teachers.

Other priorities included $46 million to hire more social workers, $34 million for additional opioid addiction treatment, and nearly $11 million for foster and adoption support. There was also more tax dollars for hiring 75 additional prosecutors and 51 public defenders, plus $4 million for new state police cruisers, guns and radio systems. And $100 million in workforce development bonds would be issued under the Governor’s priorities.

There was no short supply of reaction to his priorities, particularly when it came to education. While some expressed appreciation that the Governor placed a priority on classroom instruction, others expressed concern that cuts in non-instructional areas could cause inequities between districts across the state. One of those cuts is to the districts’ transportation budgets.

Again, the Governor’s budget proposal is just that—a proposal. We face a months-long process of negotiations, studies, and public hearings before a final draft is crafted. The final product will likely look much different from the Governor’s original proposal, but the driving force behind it remains the same—we must put our state on a financially-sound path forward.

I want to remind you about opportunities to share your thoughts with me at my upcoming legislative coffees:

· January 27: Meeting at Marion County Farm Bureau – 8 a.m. with Rep. Reed
· January 29: Meeting at the Casey County City Hall – 8 a.m. with Rep. Elliott
· February 5: Meeting at the Spencer County-Taylorsville Chamber of Commerce – 8 a.m. with Rep. Tipton

Finally, I would like to congratulate the recipients of the Kentucky Distinguished Young Women awards in Senate District 14: Leah Hazelwood of Marion County, Ariel Becker of Nelson County, and Myla McGowan of Casey County. These young women have shown great leadership and initiative, and I look forward to seeing what they will accomplish in the future.

If you have any questions or comments about these issues or any other public policy issue, please call me toll-free at 1-800-372-7181, on my home phone at 270-692-6945, or email me at Jimmy.Higdon@LRC.ky.gov. You can also review the Legislature’s work online at www.lrc.ky.gov.

Thursday, Jan. 11, 2018 — Former House Speaker Jody Richards recently joined the growing chorus of longtime Democratic legislators announcing they would not seek re-election this year.

Richards, D-Bowling Green, who went to Frankfort the year Jimmy Carter was elected president, pounded the gavel in the House for 14 years, making him the longest-serving Speaker in Kentucky’s history.

His legacy involves playing a key role as longtime House Education Committee chairman in shaping the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) of 1990, which was accompanied by a $1.3 billion tax increase – the largest since Daniel Boone wandered through the Cumberland Gap and first laid eyes on what would become America’s 15th state.

Among the many fads KERA forced on schools were School Based Decision Making (SBDM) councils, which gave teachers control of their school’s most important funding, personnel and curriculum decisions.

Thankfully, the legislature stands poised to make progress toward significantly reducing SBDM authority and returning it to superintendents and elected school boards, where it belongs and where it will make it possible for parents and citizens to demand accountability for the way schools operate and educate.

Sen. John Schickel, R-Union, has introduced sound SDBM-reform legislation which includes returning the hiring of principals to superintendents with councils playing a more-appropriate advisory role.

it also requires councils to report their activities annually to – and align their policies with – their school boards.

It also allows board members to “overturn a decision policy or action of a school council they determine to be inconsistent with local board policy; or a hindrance to the efficient operation of the district as a whole.”

Also, it provides a mechanism and process whereby SBDM authority can be removed from clearly failing schools.

KERA also promised that this experimental and highly controversial approach to managing schools would get parents more involved in their children’s schools, even though parents would be relegated to a minority vote on the councils.

So, how’s that working out?

An analysis of state data reveals that nearly 73 percent of Kentucky’s 1,124 schools during the 2016-17 school year had only single-digit ratios of parents compared to total student enrollment even bothering to show up to vote in SBDM elections for their council representatives.

While 15 schools did have SBDM voter-to-student ratios of at least 50 percent, such a response was by far the exception.

Nearly three out of four Kentucky schools had only single-digit ratios with 101 schools having even less than 1 percent turnout in last school year’s SBDM elections.

There are limitations to such an analysis of enrollees because it ​doesn’t ​include​ the total number of parents in a school since some students come from two-parent homes – both of whom can vote in SBDM elections – or have siblings enrolled in the same schools.

Still, when only about one in 10 students is likely represented in the vast majority of council elections, it’s reasonable to conclude that parent interest in SBDM activities in most Kentucky’s schools is sparse.

While Schickel’s bill doesn’t give parents an equal or majority vote on the councils, it does provide a process whereby parents can appeal to school-board members, who, in turn, can make their case to the state Board of Education regarding why SBDM authority should be removed from failing schools.

So, while Richards and his fellow politicians reaped the political benefits of KERA, many of its experimental fads – including the SBDM approach to governing schools – were flops and failures.

Jim Waters is president and CEO of the Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions, Kentucky’s free-market think tank. Read previous columns at www.bipps.org. He can be reached at jwaters@freedomkentucky.com and @bipps on Twitter.

My father-in-law started a business as an LLC few years ago. He named all his daughters owners, with him owning the majority share. The business failed, and now he is being sued by creditors. He told the family these creditors can’t come after us and the other siblings, because he is the majority owner. Is this true, or should we get a lawyer?

Caleb

Dear Caleb,

Your wife is probably not in danger, unless she signed paperwork making her liable for a loan or liable with a creditor. If she signed official, legal paperwork – like if she went down to the bank and signed on a loan – then she’s liable. It’s that simple. That would make her, or any of her siblings who did this, co-makers on the loan.

Your wife, and any of her sisters, who signed on trade accounts taking supplies from a supplier and paying them could also be liable. But they are not automatically liable simply because they were listed as minority owners in an LLC, or even a sub-S corporation. If it were a general partnership, there’s a possibility they could be liable. That’s one of the reasons I hate general partnerships. I hate partnerships in general, but I hate general partnerships, too!

In other words, I think you’re okay. I would still advise speaking with an attorney, and giving him or her all the details of this situation, to be absolutely certain.

—Dave

Be there for each other, and don’t give up!

Dear Dave,

My wife and I both lost our jobs a few weeks ago. She began a training course for a new job last week, and I’ve been interviewing. We cashed in an annuity the other day because things have been tight, and we were wondering if we should use it to help continue paying down debt, or simply live on it until things get better.

Vernon

Dear Vernon,

You need to be honorable and pay your debts, but that may have to be put on hold for a while. Right now, it’s more important to have food in the house and keep the heat on.

If you haven’t done so already, contact your creditors and explain the situation. Let them know you’ll make things right with them as soon as possible. I know this is a scary situation, especially around the holidays, so make sure you two pull together and keep the lines of communication wide open. A few extra hugs wouldn’t hurt, either.

The good news is it sounds like things may be looking up. Support your wife all you can in her new job, and make sure you continue looking for work, too. A little extra money is better than none, so take on something part-time while you’re looking for a permanent position.

God bless you two!

—Dave

Dave Ramsey is CEO of Ramsey Solutions. He has authored seven best-selling books, including The Total Money Makeover. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 13 million listeners each week on 585 radio stations and multiple digital platforms. Follow Dave on the web at daveramsey.com and on Twitter at @DaveRamsey.

Kentucky House leaders’ determination to rebuff the Attorney General’s decision that the House’s closed-door gathering this summer to discuss pension reform violated the commonwealth’s Open Meetings Act and instead take the issue to court – hence, the lawsuit against the Bluegrass Institute – brings the saga one step closer toward final rejection of using legislative maneuvers to avoid future secret meetings on politically difficult issues.

Republican House leaders are attempting to maneuver around open-meetings requirements by claiming the Aug. 29 assembly to discuss controversial recommendations released the previous day for reforming the state’s pension systems was just another one of their political caucus meetings open to the Democratic minority caucus as well.

House attorney Laura H. Hendrix responding to a complaint filed by the institute’s Center for Open Government defended the secret meeting, arguing that political caucus assemblies are “specifically exempt” from the Open Meetings Act.

This isn’t the first attempt by House leaders seeking a closed-door discussion about a politically thorny issue to claim the meetings are caucus gatherings exempt from sunshine laws.

Similar arguments were advanced by the House in 1993 when Speaker Joe Clark called members into a closed session regarding Gov. Brereton Jones’s proposed health care reform, also a highly contentious issue.

House leaders escaped further legal action that year with claims that a quorum of its members didn’t show up for the private discussion.

Otherwise, the attorney general ruled, it would have constituted an illegal meeting.

While House leaders argued this summer’s secret session was a caucus meeting, they haven’t even attempted to claim lack of an attendance quorum.

It would be fruitless to do so, since the Lexington Herald-Leader reported prior to this past summer’s pension discussion that “all House members will meet” and Louisville Democratic Rep. Jim Wayne was the only lawmaker who publicly objected to the secrecy and walked out in protest.

The attorney general’s ruling that a quorum would have made the 1993 closed-door meeting – which leaders claimed was one big happy caucus event – illegal should make the current case a legal slam dunk against even attempting such maneuvers.

Yet while the legal outcome is by no means certain, it will be fascinating to witness House attorneys attempt to portray a meeting of nearly the entire legislative body as just a political caucus meeting.

Doing so will, I anticipate, resemble an attempt to make the argument that if it looks, walks, swims and quacks like a duck, then it’s probably a cat.

Center for Open Government director Amye Bensenhaver hoped the House would simply accept and acknowledge it violated the open-meetings law instead of wasting taxpayer money by suing the Bluegrass Institute “to justify excluding the public from its meetings, which is precisely what the Open Meetings Act was designed to prevent.”

It’s telling that longtime legislators who now are House leaders are driving this doubled-down attempt to protect the body’s ability to meet behind closed doors.

Perhaps a reminder is needed that part of being a policymaker is doing the hard work of conducting open discussions about tough issues and then being accountable not just for the final vote tally but also for how those decisions are reached throughout the legislative sequence.

It’s also important for them to keep in mind that the legislature itself has imposed the same open-meetings law the House skirted on other public entities.

Getting this issue into a courtroom, argued and resolved would represent the kind of gain on behalf of citizens that would be worth the pain of the process.

Jim Waters is president and CEO of the Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions, Kentucky’s free-market think tank. Read previous columns at www.bipps.org. He can be reached at jwaters@freedomkentucky.com and @bipps on Twitter.

Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2017 — Rep. Jerry Miller, R-Louisville, was on the right side of principle when he said recently on KET’s “Kentucky Tonight” program that he doesn’t deserve to be re-elected if he doesn’t have the “courage to make the right vote for Kentucky.”

There’s no question that Miller, like other conservatives who’ve expressed similar sentiments – including Gov. Matt Bevin, have the right motives and sentiments regarding leadership and votes on politically tough issues.

But what if you could simultaneously choose both the right and best options, secure enough votes for passage and then live politically to fight another day for policies that build upon those reforms and make Kentucky an economic powerhouse?

Moving state workers and teachers into a defined-contribution system where they as beneficiaries have more responsibility while eliminating taxpayers’ risk is undoubtedly the right move from a politically conservative and philosophical viewpoint.

Isn’t it also right to ensure that retired teachers don’t outlive their resources and end up on welfare?

Stopping the digging of our seemingly ever-deepening pension hole by ceasing to promise or provide arbitrarily-enhanced benefits at levels that are neither affordable nor legal is right.

So is ensuring that the retirement plans into which beneficiaries and retirees have contributed are stable and remain sustainable in order to provide promised defined benefits.

Keeping promises; protecting taxpayers.

Both are right.

The Bluegrass Institute Pension Reform Team’s new proposal does all of those “right” things but looks different than any previous model.

This new paradigm establishes benefits based upon a fixed percentage-of-payroll contribution combined with the overall performance of the systems.

It proposes a 15-percent payroll contribution for Teachers’ Retirement System members, with employees contributing 9 percent and the employer – taxpayers – kicking in 6 percent.

Unlike the current setup, where the systems’ bureaucrats run to lawmakers incessantly with both hands out looking for more money from taxpayers to cover unfunded liabilities, this new approach offers incentives for the systems to avoid such deficits altogether by requiring administrators to lower benefits in order to address previous shortfalls.

Taxpayers are protected by ensuring that their payroll contribution as the employer remains steadfast at 6 percent throughout the whole process.

The systems would be incentivized to establish much more conservative investment-return assumptions since beneficiaries rather than taxpayers would be on the hook for liabilities created by overly optimistic assumptions.

More conservative assumptions combined with expected brisk returns during upcoming years would also create a splash of surplus funding for paying down the current $65 billion unfunded liability, improving Kentucky’s credit rating and lowering borrowing costs needed to build new schools and courthouses.

Beneficiaries should demand that their groups’ talking heads – who spend excessive amounts of time in Frankfort but little time listening to constituents – get on board with this approach, which:

removes control of the pension system – primarily the establishment of benefits – from politicians and gives it to the systems’ administrators

guarantees the systems’ solvency, unlike the hard landing that comes with placing all new hires into a straight 401(k)-style system, which will divert funds needed for stable cash flow, result in lower investment returns and force liquidation of remaining investments just to cover the next round of benefit payments

offers security by guaranteeing adequate funding for a lifetime via defined benefits that are always fully funded while avoiding the deep hole of costly unfunded liabilities

It would be both courageous and “right” for policymakers and beneficiaries to lay down their ideology and consider a plan that gives taxpayers the protections of a defined-contribution plan, beneficiaries the security of a solvent defined-pension benefit and Kentucky a brighter new year.

Jim Waters is president and CEO of the Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions, Kentucky’s free-market think tank. Read previous columns at www.bipps.org. He can be reached at jwaters@freedomkentucky.com and @bipps on Twitter.